1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to watercraft and, more particularly, to watercraft adapted to tow a performer using water sport implements.
2. Background Art
The popularity of water sports in the form of, for instance, wakeboarding, has increased in recent years. Wakeboarding is relatively similar to its parent water sport, waterskiing, in that a performer is towed by a watercraft to skim the surface of the water with a water sport implement, a wakeboard in this case. However, in wakeboarding, there is some emphasis on the aerial performance of the performer. In wakeboarding, the performer towed by a watercraft is looking for as large a wake as possible from the watercraft, as the wake is used to launch the performer into the air.
Watercraft have been adapted for the aerial characteristics of wakeboarding by providing a connection point for the towline at a relatively high elevation above the deck of the watercraft. This adaptation will increase the air time of the performer as well as his launching height, as the towline will not transmit a downward force, as would be the case if the connection point between watercraft and towline were directly on the deck. Rather, the towline transmits an upward force, thereby increasing the air time of the performer.
U.S. Pat. No. RE37,823, reissued on Sep. 3, 2002 to Larson et al., discloses a water sport tower providing an elevated connection point for the towline. The water sport tower disclosed therein has a pair of inverted U-shaped members, with free ends of each inverted U-shaped member being oppositely connected port and starboard of the watercraft. The inverted U-shaped members thus connected to the watercraft are interconnected so as to provide a structure that will remain stable irrespective of the forces exerted by the maneuvers of the performer being towed. As mentioned previously, the connection point between the towline and the wakeboard tower is elevated with respect to the deck of the watercraft so as to ease the launching of the performer into his aerial performance.
Water sport towers, such as that described in U.S. Pat. No. RE37,823, have been used as supports for tops. Such tops, also referred to as bimini tops, come in the form of soft panels stretched by a framing structure, the framing structure being releasably securable to the water sport tower by way of various fasteners. Amongst the various factors influencing the design of tops for water sport towers is the fact that the tops, and their framing structures, must not impede the towline pulling the performer. Thus far, the tops have been provided separately from the water sport towers, whereby they must be stored individually and thus represent a bulky nonoptimal solution. Moreover, as they must not impede the movement of the towline, the tops are relatively close to the passenger seating area of the watercraft, thus procuring a feeling of confinement.